Apple unveils new iPod touch, “fat” iPod nano at special event

Apple used today's special event in San Francisco to announce major revisions …

Observers have been expecting a significant revamp to Apple's iPod lineup, especially after the release of the iPhone in all of its touchscreen glory. So when Apple announced today's special event—as we predicted—with the tagline "The beat goes on," we knew the time for an iPod refresh had come. We weren't disappointed, as Apple announced an all-new line-up of iPods from top to bottom, including a new "fat" iPod nano at $149 and $199, a "classic" iPod at $249 and $349, and the much-anticipated iPod touch with WiFi, Safari, and a touchscreen interface—an iPhone without the phone capability and dedicated e-mail client—for $299 and $399. The iPod touch will be able to purchase music directly from the iTunes Store via WiFi. Apple also had a major bit of news with regards to the iPhone, dropping the price for the 8GB model by $200 to $399 and eliminating the 4GB model altogether.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs began by announcing that Apple had distributed over 600 million copies of iTunes, the iTunes Store is the top online music store in 21 countries, and that Apple has sold 95 million TV shows so far. Jobs' first announcement was that a new version of iTunes to be released later today will support ringtones as well as the other new products Apple has on tap. Ringtones will be available for 99¢ in addition to the 99¢ song price. Users can create custom ringtones from over 500,000 songs.

iPod nano

Jobs then announced that Apple would be revamping the iPod lineup from top to bottom. At the bottom of the lineup is a new (PRODUCT) Red iPod Shuffle with 1GB of storage for $79.

Next up was the new iPod nano. The leaked pictures of the "fat" iPod nano have proven to be the real deal, as the new nano sports a 2" 320x240 LCD and a doubled storage capacity of 4GB and 8GB. The nano now supports video for the first time, and users will be able to browse their libraries using CoverFlow. Apple is also bringing the iPod lineup of games to the nano for the first time, with three included on the digital audio players. The nano is now made entirely of metal and will be available in black, red, silver, blue, and green. Jobs said that the new iPods are shipping today and will be in stores by this weekend. The 4GB silver model is $149 and the 8GB model, which are available in all colors, will cost $199.

iPod Classic

The venerable iPod form factor will continue in the form of the "iPod Classic," which has 80GB of storage and a full-metal design that is thinner than its predecessor. For those with truly enormous music and video libraries, the iPod Classic will be available with capacities of up to 160GB. The 80GB model will retail for $249 while the new 160GB model will set you back $349.

iPod touch

Topping off the iPod announcements was a new "iPod touch." The iPhone's touchscreen interface is coming to the iPod, and the iPod touch will have the same-sized screen as the iPhone, but will be 8mm thin. It, too, will have what Jobs described as the "revolutionary" multitouch interface of the iPhone.

A touchscreen and a new form factor aren't the only new features the iPod touch is bringing to the lineup. The iPod touch will be the first iPod to have WiFi support built in and will also come with a version of Safari. Jobs said that it's the "first time ever" a browser has been built into a digital audio player. The iPod touch will feature support for YouTube, like the iPhone, and users will be able to navigate around the web via the device's on-screen keyboard.

The iPod touch will use the same interface as the current iPhone and will have battery life sufficient for 22 hours of audio playback and five hours of video playback, according to Jobs. The iPod touch will come in two sizes—8GB for $299 and 16GB for $399—and will ship later this month.

One more thing

As has become customary, Jobs concluded the event with "one more thing." In this case, it's the iTunes WiFi Music Store. The new version will give listeners free previews of any song in the store over WiFi. If they like what they hear, they can purchase it from the iPod touch for immediate gratification. It will then sync to a Mac or PC the next time the iPod is docked.

The iTunes WiFi Music Store has an interface specific to the iPod touch, and users will be able to get all of the same bells and whistles available via the desktop version of iTunes, including album art and full albums. The new store will be available in all 22 countries where the iTunes Store operates, and iPhone users will be able to get in on the fun, too. There's a tie-in with Starbucks, too, which will be rolled out first in New York and Seattle beginning in October. When iPod touch owners are near a Starbucks (and is it ever possible to be far away from one?), a Starbucks button will appear on the display, which will allow users to buy whatever song happens to be playing there with a single tap of the finger and also the last 10 songs played. The iPod touch will also get free access to the iTunes Store from Starbucks as the result of the partnership announced between Apple and Starbucks.

Jobs then moved on to some unexpected iPhone news. The 4GB iPhone is history, and the 8GB model is seeing a massive price drop, from $599 to $399. That grinding sound you're hearing is the gnashing of teeth made by everyone who has purchased an iPhone in the past week.